Couch-bed.



G. H. ST. CLAIR.

GOUGH BBD.

APPLIUATION FILED 11111.29. 1909.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 1,.

q* wenjoi/I I' mm1/.05@

G. H ST. CLAIR.

COUGH BED.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1909.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

www

-N @IIIIII ,vrzessesf (31T W. @www two couch sections of which the lower sec-- I l N ITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. ST; CLAIR, or LYNN, NAssAeH-USETTS, ASSIGNOR To YMEERnvuiC MATTRESS MFG; COMPANY, or BosToN, MASSACHUSETTS, A oortPonATIoN 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

To all w71 om it may Concern.'

Be it known that I,' GEORGE H.' ST. CLAIR, of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements `in Couch-Beds, of which the following isa specification.y

This invention has relation to convertible couch beds, and has for its object to pro-A vide certain improvements therein by which the sections may be shifted or moved relatively to each otherwith greater ease than heretofore, by `which the mattress fabrics may be brought more nearly into the same horizontal plane, and by which the sections may he more effectively nested than heretofore.

In carrying outv the invention, I provide tion Vis complete, with the usual four legs or supports, and an upper movable section which may be caused to overlie the rstmentioned section or else to be projected laterally to one side so as to overlap only' the side of the `first-mentioned section, the said upper section having legs or supports on only one side and having its other side supported on the lower section.

The two sections are4 connected together by pivoted connections, so that their relative movement is limited, and they are caused to assume either one of only two different positions withl respect `to each other.

'The said connections are so formed that when the upper section is shifted laterally,

its inner side is lifted bodily so as to free it from engagement with the lower section, and it is held up until said section reaches the limit of its outward lateral movement when ysaid'inner side 1s dropped so as to rest upon the lower section. The connections between the said sections are so formed and are pro- Vvided with treadles that by actuating the said connections, the upper section may be moved laterally one way or the other with very little exertion. rl`he said connections include a rod or shaft which is located bencath the mattress fabric of the lower section,jarms at the ends thereof which connect` tion and the upper ends to lateral projec-v tions on said arms, so that the said shaft is specification of lLetters Patent.

COUCH-BED.

l Patented Dec. 1,1914.

Applicationinea January as,l 1909. serial No. 474,901..

Fig. 2 representsfa longitudinal section on the line 2 2 of 1. 'Figs 3 and 4 rep` resent end elevations respectively showin the movable section projected half-way an fullyv projected.

Referring to the drawings, the couch bed therein illustrated comprises two sections which I may term the upper and lower sections or the 'movable' and stationary sections, and are indicated' respectively at A and B. The lower or stationary section consists of end frames which are connected by side bars 10. The end frames are illustrated as having legs or supports 11, 11 connected at their upper ends by cross-bars 12, and at or near their lower ends by cross-bars 13.

lThe uprights 1l and the. cross-bars 12 are vconnected together. stretched between' the horizontal websof thecross-bars 12 is any suitable mattress fabric indicated as a Whole at 14. This fabric or spring mattress is lillustrated as being of the National type, but it will be understood thatany suitable fabric may be utilized in lieu of the one shown. In the lower end lof each of the legs or supports 12 is secured a tri-lateral caster bracket 15,` in the horizontal weby of` which is mounted a caster 16. It will be understood that, although I have described this sectionI of the couch bed in detail, nevertheless said section may be lmade in any other convenient way that may Asuggest itself to the manufacturer. i

The upper or movable section B consists of end cross-bars 17 between which is stretched the mattress fabric 18,' said end bars being illustrated as angle bars so that their horizontal webs may rest upon the horizontal webs of the end bars 12, and their vertical webs lie outside the vertical vwebs of said cross-bars 12 lof the lower or stationary section. At their outer ends, the end bars 17 'are attached in any suitable way to legs or uprights 19, the

will bev seen that the movable or upper sec-y tion A17 may be caused to'overlap the lower or, stationary section, as shown in Fig. 1, with the mattress 18 completely overlapping 'the mattress 14 and with the end bars 17 resting upon4 the end/bars 12.r With the two` sections thus nestedv together the Istructure maybe used as a couchfor singl'bed. By moving the upper or movable frame laterallypr outwardly into the positionshown in: Fig 4, the couch lI naybe made into a double bed. The innerends of the end bars 17 then l rest uponthe lower section, the outer ,ends

lof said cross-bars being supported` by theY y legs or supports 19. In order yto limitv .the

relative movement of ,the two sections and also-for the purpose of providing means vfor shifting them or moving one relatively tothe other, I.. provide the following mechanism. l e y 22. 'isa rod or shaft whichl lies beneath the mattress of the lower section and which extends from end to end of the said section -as'sh'own in Fig. 2. Rigidly secured to the ends of said rod or shaft are two arms 23 23 whose free ends are pivoted as at 24 to the inner ends of the end bars 17 of the movable section. The said rod or shaft and the two arn'is 23 assist the side bars 2O in spacing the end bars 17 apart, and thus maintaining the mattressl fabric 18 in a taut or stretched condition. Each of the arms 23 is provided orformed with two shorter divergent lugs 24l 24F, to the ends of which are pivoted two crossed links 25, 26 respectively, each of said arms. with the associated lugs thus forming virtually a .three armed lever. The said crossed links have their lower ends pivoted at separate points to the cross-bar 13 at the ends of the lower section. rl`he link 25 is on the inside'y of the vertical web of the crossbar 13, whereas the link 26 is on the outer side of said web as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The arms 23, lugs 24a and 24? and the links 25, 26 are Vot such length that, when the upper section is moved outwardly relatively to. the lower section, the inner ends of the end bars 17 will rest upon the outer ends e upper section is moved inwardly,`the inner of the cross-bars 1.2, and that, when the of the two sections are completely disen-- gaged as shown by Fig. 3. This is accomplished by the oscillation of the arms 23 and 1t will be noticed in this connection that not only are the shaft 22 and the arms 23 oscillated but. that they are at the same time moved bodily through a curved path. The free ends' of the arms 23 are caused to move through a path which is in the nature of a curve approximating the longer or flatter side of an ellipse, in'consequence 4of which the vinner end of the upper section is not lifted as high as it would be were the arms 23 mounted upon a xed axis and of suflicient length to give the required range of movement tothe movable section.

' To provide for shifting theupper section,l

I attach to the two lugs 24, 24b at one end of the bed treadles 28,' 29.l These treadles are divergent and are V4arranged substantially radial of the rod or shaft 22. At the end of each treadle is a foot piece 30 with whichmay be engaged the foot`of'the operator. If it be desired to move the'l upper frame laterally or outwardly from the position shown in Fig.. 1, the operator has but to Vplace'his footlupon the foot piece 30 of the treadle 29 kand to depress the same. By reason of the compound levers consisting of the lugs 24, 24", the links 25, 26 and the arms 23, it requires very little effort for the operator. `to move the upper section outwardly. When the sections are nested together, the treadle 29 is approximately horizontal and the treadle 28 depends almost vertically, and when the upper section has been lmoved outwardly to the position shown in Fig.' 4, the parts are reversed, the

treadle 28 `being, approximately horizontal and the treadle 29 approximately vertical.

A construction such' asherein described possesses numerous advantages which will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates. and it will furthermore be seenby suchpersons that the inventionis capable of a variety of embodiments which will readily suggest themselves. Consequently I do not wish to be limited to the particular embodiment ofthe invention which I have herein illustrated and described in detail, and to that end it will be recognized that the terminology which I have adopted is for the ,'purpose of description and not of limitation.

1. A convertible couch bed comprising a relatively stationary section, a relatively movable section having supports at one side to resten a vfloor and adapted to overlap and rest on said relatively stationary sec- 130 nected to the overlapping side of said relatively movable section, and movable supporting means mounted 011 said relatively stationary section, to which said arms are pivotally connected.

2. A couch-bed comprising a relatively stationary, lower section, a relatively movable upper section adapted to` overlie and rest upon said' lower section, being laterally movable, arms near each end of the bed pivoted to said upper section, and links pivotally connected to said arms and to said' lower section by which said arms are supported, said arms and links serving to guide the overlying 'edge of the upper section from one side to the other of the lower section in a path but slightly elevated above the lower section.` i

3. A convertible couch-bed consisting of a relatively stationary lower section, an upper section adapted to overlie said lower section and movable laterally relatively thereto so as to extendand diminish the width of the bed, supports at one side'of said upper section adapted to rest on the floor, a shaft extending longitudinally of the bed, arms extending from said shaft and pivotally united to the upper section adjacent its ends and its overlying side, and swinging supports by which said shaft is connected to the lower section so that said shaft is oscillated and moved sidewise when thebed sections are relatively moved, and said varms are caused to raise the overlying part of the upper section and guide the same in a path slightly elevated above the lower section.

4. A convertible couch-bed consisting yof a relatively stationary lower section, an upper section adapted to overlie saidlower section and movable laterally relatively there- -toso as to extend and diminish the width of the bed, supports at one side of said upper section adapted to rest on the floor, a shaft extending longitudinally of the bed, arms extending from said shaft and pivotally united to the upper section adjacent its ends and its overlying side, lugs extending divergently from said shaft, links pivoted to the lower part of the lower section at separated points crossing each other and each pivotally connected to one of said lugs,

' whereby said shaft is caused'to move laterally and to oscillate when the couch sections are relatively moved, whereby the points of attachment between-said arms and the upper section are caused to travel in a curved path having a less elevation than if the arms were caused to swing about a fixed axis.

5. A couch bed consisting of relatively stationary and movable sections, the latter being Aadapted to overlie the former and having at one side supports adapted to-rest on the floor, a floating shaft parallel tothe longitudinal dimension of the bed, arms rig-a idly secured to said1 shaft and held thereby at an invariable distance apart, being pivotally connected to said movable section near the ends thereof and adjacent to the shaft is connected, with capability for relative oscillating movement.

6. A couch-bed consisting of a relatively stationary section which is self-supporting, a relatively movable section adapted to overlie said first section and to be placed with one of its side 'edges resting on aside of the first section, supports for the outer side of said relatively movable section adapted to rest on the ioor, a three-armed leverconnected pivotally to said relatively movable section near each' end, and near that side thereof which is supported by the first section, and links connected to the other two arms of said levers and to the frame of the first section, said links being crossed, whereby to give the levers swinging and translati-ve movements when the sections are relatively Amoved.

-7. A couch-bed consisting of a relatively stationary section which is self-supporting, a relatively movable section adapted to overlie said first section and to be placed with one of its side edges resting on a side of the first section, supports for the outer side of said relatively movable section adapted-to rest on the floor, a three-armed lever having a long arm pivotally connected to the second section adjacent to the side thereof which rests upon the first section, and links pivoted-to the other two arms of said lever andto the frame of the first said section, said last arms having accessible portions whereby the lever may be swung so as to shift the movable section to widen or'reduce the width of the bed. y

8. A couch bed consisting of relatively stationary andmovable sections, the latter being adapted to overlie they former and having. at one side supports adapted to rest relatively. movable and stationary sections,

one of which is adapted to overlie the other and to be extended in continuation thereof, and means for moving the first said section relatively to the other, including arms pivotally connected to said movable isc section near'its ends, and crossed links pivoted to`the lower part of said stationary section and to separated points on said arms.

10. A convertible bed-couch, comprising relatively movable and stationary sections, one of which is adapted to overlie the other and'to be extended in continuation thereof, and means for. moving the movable secsection adapted to overlie said stationary section and movable into a position at one side of and inextension of said section, said movable section having supports at its outer corners adapted to rest on the floor, a side bar connecting said supports, and end bars connected to. said supports and parallel With the end bars of the stationarysection, and

means'for shifting said. movable section, consisting of arms pivotally supported by said stationary section, and connectedto the cross-bars of said movable section near the ends thereof opposite to the supports of such section, and a rod or shaft to Which said arms lare rigidly connected and by which the end bars of the movable section are spaced apart.

12. A couch bed comprising a relatively stationary section, a relatively movable section adapted to move laterally with respect to said relatively stationary section for Widening and contracting the bed, and means for so moving the relatively movable section, including an arm connected with the relatively movable section, and means connecting said arm with Athe relatively stationary section in a manner permitting simultaneous oscillative and translative movement of the arm bodily in the direction in which the relatively movable section f moves. f

In testimony whereof'I have ailixed my A. C. RATIGAN, i P. W. PEzzE'rTI. 

